The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

A few days later, Zhuge Yunshu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao were invited by Master Wang to his home, which was the residence provided by the town school for Master Wang and his family—Mingbian Garden in the South District.

They said they had compiled some collections of poems and paintings by famous people for them to appreciate together.

The reason, as Zhuge Yunshu and the others knew perfectly well, was that while they were 'appreciating' the poems, they were actually criticizing the women for their low cultural level and inability to produce any truly inspired poetry.

Of course, Zhuge Yunshu, the fake child, is an exception among "them".

Moreover, Master Wang regarded her as a genius at composing poetry.

However, Wang Yi and Zhang Hao, two true scholars of ancient times, were not so lucky.

Zhang Hao, in particular, could never forget the expression on Master Wang's face after reading his poems.

The original words were:

"If I didn't know this was your poem, I would have thought it was a doggerel written by my friend's three-year-old. You're such a grown-up, how come you're not even as good as a baby..." That look of disdain, as if it were an insult to his eyes, deeply stung his fragile young heart.

He was quite helpless about this. As a scholar, who wouldn't want to be able to compose poetry on the spot? But unfortunately, he didn't have the brains for it, and he wasn't a particularly smart person to begin with. The fact that he was able to come out on top among his classmates in the town school was the result of his hard work every night.

Besides, he spent most of his time studying the Five Classics and policy essays, so he had no time to care about poetry and prose.

Most importantly, he really had absolutely no interest in writing poetry.

Wang Yi is much better than Zhang Hao. She has some talent, but she doesn't want to waste time on writing poetry.

In her opinion, she would rather spend the evening studying arithmetic. She was fascinated by the collection of arithmetic problems compiled by her junior sister Yun Shu.

She longed to finish the lessons assigned by Master Wang and her own reading plan as soon as possible every day. Even if she could only spare half an hour to study, she would be content.

If Zhuge Yunshu knew what Wang Yi was thinking, he would definitely tell her: This is the charm of mathematics, it can make people obsessed and crazy.

"This is a collection of poems I compiled. Although it is not as good as the works of famous poets, it is more than enough for you to study." Master Wang casually took out three books that were about the thickness of a fist and handed them to them.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Zhang Hao: "......"

They had thought that Master Wang was focused on practical matters and not very interested in poetry and literature, but they never expected that he was just being modest and was also a great talent.

Wang Yi, on the other hand, remained calm. Of course, as her niece, she knew exactly what was going on with her fourth uncle.

"Do you know why I value your poetry writing ability so much?" After a while, when everyone had appreciated it enough, Master Wang finally spoke.

Zhuge Yunshu and the other two were caught off guard by Master Wang's sudden question, but they still shook their heads in unison as a reflex.

Finally, Zhuge Yunshu stepped forward and asked in bewilderment, "Master, I believe that poetry and prose are supplementary questions in the imperial examinations. Their importance is obviously less than that of the classics, essays, and policy questions. They are not even of much use for future official careers. So why are they so popular among scholars?"

She really couldn't understand it. A person's ability to compose poetry could indeed reveal their literary talent, but in the future, being a good official wasn't simply a matter of who had the best literary skills.

When Wang Yi and Zhang Hao heard what Junior Sister Yun Shu said, they looked at Master Wang with anticipation, because this was exactly what they wanted to know.

Looking at his three prized disciples, Master Wang couldn't help but smile helplessly: "You are still young, it's normal that you don't know these things."

"When you become officials in the future, especially officials in the capital, you will find that these officials naturally have their own circles, and these circles are not places that ordinary officials can enter. Everyone in them has a certain reputation and political achievements in literary circles and officialdom... And the most important social means for these people is to exchange poems."

"Although you can't appreciate the benefits of entering this circle now, I want to tell you that it will be relatively easier for you to get things done in the officialdom in the future after you enter this circle."

Master Wang paused for a moment, and seeing that Zhuge Yunshu and the others seemed to understand, he continued:

"...After you pass the preliminary examination, you will find that in addition to studying, you also have to attend gatherings held by your classmates from time to time, and these gatherings are basically about drinking and composing poetry."

"Although I know you are all ambitious and disdainful of such literary gatherings, you will still need to participate in necessary social interactions after you become officials. For example, if your superior takes you to a gathering of literary figures among his superiors, can you refuse? And if you are asked to compose a poem at the gathering, and it is not well done, won't your superior think you are unworthy of your position? If your superior is invited to compose a poem at the gathering and suddenly loses inspiration, can you not help him...?"

After Master Wang said this, Zhuge Yunshu finally understood that people in officialdom are not free to control their own destiny.

Just like in her previous life's workplace, even though she wasn't ambitious and posed no threat to her colleagues, she still got the cold shoulder several times.

The reason was that she had refused too many dinner invitations from colleagues and superiors, who felt that she was not giving them face.

Actually, Zhuge Yunshu now thinks it's quite unfair. All she wanted was to go back to bed early and watch TV series on her phone.

"Furthermore, the capital is a place where every inch of land is precious, and with so many people and such high prices, gifts are expected during festivals. That's one thing, but when your superior's family gets married or has a son, daughter, or grandson, when your colleague gets married and has a child, or when you celebrate a big birthday with the Liao family's parents, you need to give gifts to maintain the relationship. However, if you write good poetry, you can certainly use that as a gift. In the eyes of these pedantic 'scholars,' good poetry is far more elegant and prestigious than gold and silver. But the prerequisite is that you must be able to write good poetry."

"...At first, I also thought these people were unbearably vulgar. But later, I had no choice but to improve my poetry and try to fit in with them. There was no other way; it was too expensive. That's the survival rule in the capital." Master Wang sighed helplessly as he thought of this.

Zhuge Yunshu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao nodded in understanding. They felt that poetry was like a medium for making friends; good poetry could influence how others treated you...

With this in mind, they all began to pay more attention to the subject of poetry and prose.

Isn't it all about getting an official position? Then let's work together!